Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has accepted the public apology made by his deputy, Philip Shaibu. The apology comes in the wake of a rift between the two political figures.
Governor Obaseki disclosed his acceptance of the apology in a letter titled “Re: Public Apology by the Edo State Deputy Governor. He noted that, as a person of faith, he was under obligation to accept the apology.
The governor expressed his trust in the sincerity of Shaibu’s public apology and hoped that it would be followed by contrite steps to improve his conflict resolution skills.
The letter reads: “I have noted the public apology made by the Deputy Governor of Edo State, His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu. This apology followed an aberrant behavior that contradicts what the people of Edo State stand for.
To name a few, the Deputy Governor needlessly filed unfounded petitions in the Nigerian courts restraining me, the State House of Assembly, and security agencies from a non-existent impeachment process, followed by repeated breaches of protocol and unwarranted and unprovoked attacks in the media on my person and the State Government.
“The media frenzy, as a result of the above and more, provided an impression of a crisis that has been precarious and distasteful to Edo people in the state and across the world.
Although these unwarranted provocations caused me severe personal discomfort, as a person of faith, I am under obligation to accept this apology because, as they say, “to err is human, to forgive is divine.”
Obaseki further noted, “In good faith, I trust that the public apology as expressed by the Deputy Governor is genuine and followed by contrite steps to improve his conflict resolution skills. I also enjoin the Deputy Governor to guide his proxies to act in accordance with his piety.